Film Translations: When the Original Meaning Disappears
‘Con Air’ was unusable as it stood in France. It became ‘Les Ailes de l’enfer’ (‘Wings of Hell’).
This case is not unique. Back in the 1970s, the distributor CIC had to urgently rename Jaws 2, which had initially been poorly translated (Les dents de la mer 2, the words “mer + 2” mean “shiet” in french…), to Les Dents de la Mer : deuxième partie (‘Jaws: Part Two’). The aim? To make the title more understandable for the French audience.
Why Some Film Titles Are Changed
But the trend of altering titles doesn’t stop there. Some distributors even go so far as to invent entirely new titles, or even reword English titles… in English!
For example, The Deer Hunter became Voyage au bout de l’enfer (‘Journey to the End of Hell’), with no real connection to the plot. Closer was changed to Closer, entre adultes consentants (‘Closer, Among Consenting Adults’), while The Hangover was retitled Very Bad Trip, by association with another similarly successful film.
Even Analyze This was renamed Mafia Blues to appeal to a wider audience, and Capote was extended to Truman Capote to avoid any ambiguity – as you might have guessed.
The Most Surprising Excesses in Kung-Fu Films
And what about the kung-fu films of the 1970s, true unintentional masterpieces of marketing mistranslation:
- The Invincible Iron Palm became J’irai verser du nuoc-mam sur tes tripes (‘I’ll Pour Fish Sauce on Your Guts’) (the funniest one, in my opinion);
- The Way of the Tiger, Nous y’en a riz le bol (‘We’ve Had Enough Rice’);
- The Street Fighter, Autant en emporte mon nunchaku (‘Gone With My Nunchaku’);
- I am a Chinese, Quand les jaunes voient rouge (‘When the Yellows See Red’);
- The Angry Guest, Il faut battre le Chinois pendant qu’il est chaud (‘Strike the Chinese While He’s Hot’).
Why Professional Translation Is Essential
These examples, both amusing and revealing, illustrate a simple fact: behind every ‘mistake’ in translation lies a commercial logic. Above all, a title must grab attention, even at the cost of betraying the original meaning.
Yet, while this logic may be acceptable in the world of entertainment, it becomes problematic in the professional sphere. A poor translation can distort a message, alter perception, or damage a company’s credibility.
At Alpis Translation & Interpretation, we champion a different approach: translating faithfully, without sacrificing clarity or impact. Because a good translation does more than simply transpose words – it respects the spirit of the text.